Simulated limb atomic oxygen spectra (2.1 THz and 4.7 THz)

Simulated limb spectra of atomic oxygen at 2.1 THz and 4.7 THz. The simulations were performed for a pencil-like line of sight using radiative transfer and assuming local thermal equilibrium. The limb spectra cover several different tangential heights from 100 km altitude and until 311 km altitude for a satellite in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 500 km. The temperature and atomic oxygen profiles used in the simulations were obtained from the NRLMSIS 2.1 model, and the wind values were obtained from the HWM14 model.The simulations were carried out for the publication “Feasibility of a space-borne terahertz heterodyne spectrometer for atomic oxygen and temperature in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere” by P. B. Hansen, M. Wienold, and H.-W. Hübers (preprint: 10.5194/egusphere-2024-3648). More information about the simulations and data can be found in the publication.